Why more bricks in LDD extended than LDD

[ronenson]

I was wondering why there are more bricks available in LDD extended mode than in LDD.

I can imagine that in the past this was necessary because not all bricks could be ordered,

but nowadays it's only cumbersome, because I have to switch back and forth to get the parts

I want in LDD extended, and to look for allowed color combinations in regular LDD. Anyone know why?

[Calabar]

I cas suppose:

• "Historical" reasons: previously LDD Mode was called DBM (Design By Me) mode, and contains all the bricks that was physically available on LEGO website, so that you could make your creation with LDD and buy it directly from LEGO. When DBM was dismissed, LDD Mode took its place. Extended mode derives from Universe Mode, an hidden and advanced mode created to support the LEGO Universe game, allowing to use all the resource of LDD without limits. When LEGO Universe closes, the LDD Team leave the Extended mode to us AFOL that in the past found the Universe Mode very useful.
  
• Differentiate: LDD Mode is a more "basic" mode, more simple to manage (and then more adequate to children) that directly show a set of available bricks in specific and limited colours. Extended mode is for more advanced users, available to manage a more tricky way to build.
  

I'm not sure that all the combinations in LDD Mode are "regular". If a user need to use the Extended Mode, you have not the need to switch to LDD Mode (if not for some unmapped decoration, but in this case you can use pre-generated decorations files you can find in the LDD Reference Topic).

Anyway there is a project to create a custom palette for LDD containing all (and only) the real bricks in colours available as physical bricks. Maybe it will be made in the next future using LDD Manager.

[Aanchir]

I was wondering why there are more bricks available in LDD extended mode than in LDD.

I can imagine that in the past this was necessary because not all bricks could be ordered,

but nowadays it's only cumbersome, because I have to switch back and forth to get the parts

I want in LDD extended, and to look for allowed color combinations in regular LDD. Anyone know why?

Basically, since LDD mode (mostly) limits itself to existing color combinations, though of course it's loaded with examples of parts that were never released in sets in particular colors, it's just more work to update that mode. LDD Extended Mode basically just needs the bricks to be included in the software, whereas LDD mode needs the part and color combinations to be added more selectively. As such, LDD Extended Mode's parts palette is updated with pretty much every LDD brick update, whereas the basic LDD mode is updated less frequently, and updates may not necessarily be as comprehensive.

In the case of certain older parts, LDD mode can't really include them because its color palette is limited to the 2012 LEGO color palette (probably the next time it does get updated it will be updated with colors introduced since then). Certain parts only exist in colors that were discontinued before that time.